DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 14 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — TANZANIA is set to record another milestone in the health sector following President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to India, as one of the signed agreements will enable the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) to start offering liver transplant services.
This will be the first time ever the country provides transplant service involving liver, intensifying efforts to become medical tourism hub in the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
In two years of President Samia, efforts to achieve a goal of making the country a tourism hub has been a top agenda, said Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu, adding that last year alone the country served a total of 6,472 patients from Comoro, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda and Kenya.
Speaking during a media briefing at the State House in Dar es Salaam on the results of Samia’s visit to India, Mwalimu said in two years the country will have started providing liver transplant service.
Mwalimu said the development comes after the MNH signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital during the visit.
The agreement will enable experts from the Indian hospital to build capacity to local medical specialists at the national hospital.
“We are going to carry out liver transplant here in Tanzania. These are the fruits of the President Samia’s visit to India. This will not take long because we (Tanzania) already have super specialist doctors. It will approximately take us between one to two years before we start offering the service because our super specialists will participate in fellowships which will involve exchange programmes with Indian experts,” she stated.
Mwalimu was optimistic that provision of liver transplant service locally will significantly reduce the burden on Tanzanians seeking such service in India.
“Currently, Tanzanians go to India and in doing so they have been struggling to raise between 45,000 or 50,000 US dollars for liver transplant at the BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital,” she said.
Mwalimu said the decision by Tanzania to introduce kidney transplant service brought relief to many in terms of cost reduction from 30,000 US dollars charged abroad to 15,000 US dollars which is charged in the country.
Apart from signing the MoUs with the BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, the government also signed two agreements, with the Rainbow Children Hospital and the Hester Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
According to the minister, the agreements also considered the issue of telemedicine or digital health.
“In provision of healthcare services, the issue of digital health or telemedicine is part of service provision,” she stressed.
“We already have telemedicine unit at the MNH which can collaborate with their counterparts in India. We have also introduced telemedicine centres at some regional referral hospitals and Zonal referral hospitals whereby our experts at the MNH, MOI and JKCI build capacity among professionals in regions,” she added.
The minister said the ministry also got an Indian investor who will establish pharmaceutical industry in the country, making drugs more available at affordable price because of reduced logistics costs. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
